One and Only
by StormAshke
Summary: Takes place after To the Stars. It's a slight A/U. Our favorite boneheaded flyboy still hasn't learned all he needs to know about relationships in general and Lisa in particular. First fic please R/R!


Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. I don't own Harmony Gold. If I did things would have been done differently and Minmei and Kyle would be on an island alone together somewhere! I would never have been able to write this without three people in particular. My Queen, who gave me the confidence, my friend DW, who gave me the inspiration and my better-half who put up with all the bad moods and bitching that went along with this story.

This story is dedicated to Cyber2b4u, for being willing to go there.

Feedback and constructive criticism welcome!!

Also, this is an A/U as I needed certain characters in certain places and couldn't get it done without them. Claudia, Gloval and the Trio are alive and well. Other characters make an appearance as well. The time line for Bowie Grant's birth is slightly later than canon for the purpose of this story. Thanks!!

**_One and Only_**

Lisa could hardly believe it had only been three weeks since the final attack on the SDF-1 by the suicidal Khyron. Still couldn't quite believe that SOMEHOW, once again, the brave group of defenders had managed to destroy him with minimal damage to the great ship. It was true the main guns would never fire again. It was also true that had the Skull Squadron not stood as a final defense against that ship throwing everything they had at it that the SDF-1 and all aboard her would have gone down.

_Skull Squadron._

Sitting in the command center at yet another debriefing, Captain Hayes allowed herself a brief smile as she remembered that heroic yet desperate defense. Rick's voice echoing over the TACnet alternately issuing orders and swearing to her that nothing was going to happen to her now. Somehow, in the heat of battle, Mirya had remembered a flaw in her suicidal ex-commanding officer's battle plans. Khyron always diverted power from shielding the engines to the forward section of his battle cruiser. Fearless Khyron afraid of being tossed around his own ship. She remembered Mirya's call to Rick to break off the frontal assault and follow her. It was a measure of the maturity of the young Skull Leader that he had trusted his wingmen so much to do exactly that. Skull Wing had managed to deliver the deathblow to the Zentradei juggernaut's reflex furnace before it ever entered the red zone. It was shrapnel as the ship disintegrated that did in the main guns that day. But it could have been so much worse.

"Captain Hayes!" Colonel Maistroff called_. _Really. She may have been an Admiral's daughter but she wasn't Maistroff's idea of an officer anymore than any of the other RDF brats were.

Lisa composed herself, drawing back from the memory and forcing her mind to adjust to the task at hand as her training demanded. "Yes, Colonel?"

"I was asking about the possible plans for the removal of the SDF-1 and the remains of the SDF-2 away from the population centers. Somewhere in the badlands, perhaps?" The tone of his voice let everyone in the room know that he was pleased with this concept. Finally, he would have this "robojunk" out of his backyard and once again the ground forces would rule. Too long had the military been ruled by this unreliable offshoot of alien technology. It was time to get back to the basics. Ground forces and infantrymen. The kind of thing Maistroff could understand.

Emerald eyes flashed at the very idea of removing mankind's symbol of hope. Her voice, when she spoke, was confident and military betraying none of the anger she felt. She let her eyes convey her fury to this most difficult of men. "I think you'll find more opposition to the removal than you'd be prepared to handle!"

Maistroff started to reply angrily when he was cut off by a Russian accent from the head of the table.

"I'm afraid I agree with Captain Hayes, Michael. You cannot remove the SDF-1 and provide any kind of psychological security to the people of New Macross. No. The site will be cleared and what can be salvaged will be. The SDF-1 may never fight again but there WILL be an SDF-3. It is imperative now more than ever that our people feel strong and protected. SDF-1 will always stand guard over the remains of humankind."

Admiral Gloval's confirmation of the rumor that a new Fortress was to be built caused chaos to erupt around the table. Lisa simply turned a dazzling smile on the man who was commanding officer, surrogate father and friend. She stifled a giggle when she saw Gloval wink in her direction.

"Admiral Gloval, Sir? Just so that I understand what you're saying, sir, New Macross will be the home and site for the building of the new battle fortress after all?" Commander Claudia Grant asked, more to affirm the RDF's position in the new United Earth Government as opposed to a request for information. Beside her, she felt more than saw Lisa's smile and nod of approval. For two women as close as sisters there was little they could hide from each other anymore. Backing each other up for almost a decade each could anticipate the other in their professional lives as a matter of course.

It was the personal side of life where things still got complicated. These complications usually involved bone-headed flyboys. Such as one Rick Hunter. Finally, after years of awkwardness and missed chances Roy's little brother had come into his own. Professionally and personally. Claudia couldn't think of a single thing not to be pleased about as she recalled Rick's performance over the TACnet that day. How many times can one young man swear undying love and protection during a battle anyway? Even someone who could be as much a loud mouth as Rick!

* * *

Rick Hunter pulled Skull One up from a nose dive pure out of his aerial circus days. Climbing in altitude, he allowed his Veritech a few tight spiral barrel rolls. Over the comm. system he heard Max laughing as he followed along in this impromptu version of "follow the leader." He grinned again when he saw Skull Three overtake them both with a corkscrew maneuver.

Skull Wing was taking advantage of the fact that most of their direct CO's were tied up in meetings to have a little off the record fun during their patrol. The need to blow off some steam overcame their caution and for once they had allowed themselves the freedom to revel in the power of their machines. Things had been pretty tense for all involved lately. But for Rick, the tension hadn't stopped when his shift ended. He was fighting battles in his personal life now too. Just now they were battles of a different nature. Previous battles fought would leave him aggravated and annoyed, unable to understand what that "old sourpuss" wanted from him. Now he_ knew_ what she wanted. He just wasn't sure if he would be able to give it to her. Loving Lisa Hayes was wonderful. The simple joy of being together during an evening and going over flight TAC schedules while she snuggled up to him on the couch was enough to get him through a ten hour shift. No problem. Seeing her smile and laugh at his false arrogance as her eyes flashed caused his breath to catch in his chest. Being around her at all these days was what his life was becoming about. She was as important to him as being in the air. And that was saying something.

No. The only problem he was having with Lisa now involved something he wasn't willing to talk to anyone about. "_Big Brother," _he thought as he often did_, "How would you tell me to move on from this?_" Unbidden, the thought of Roy brought with it words of advice from his early days with the flying circus.

"_Sometimes Rick the only way to regain control is to let go of the stick! You can't run every show little brother. Somewhere, sometime you're gonna have to take your lead from someone else!"_

Rick could hear Roy's voice even now. He desperately missed his Big Brother and the times he missed him most was when he had questions about women. Before, they had always been questions about Minmei. Roy had been great to him back then. He always had the feeling that Roy hadn't necessarily approved of Minmei but he'd never tried to warn Rick off. Going so far as to get Minmei to visit him when he'd been accidentally shot down over the Pacific so long ago.

_Would Roy approve of Lisa?_

Rick wondered about that as he overtook Max and Mirya both with an old booster climb maneuver.

"Captain Hunter! Just what do you think you're pulling? You're supposed to be on patrol! It's not amateur night anymore, Mister!" Lisa Hayes was on his middle TACnet screen scolding him and as her eyes flashed, he realized she wasn't kidding. Quickly, Skull Wing fell into a wedge formation on either side of him.

"Uh sorry Captain…we were having throttle problems. Got the bugs worked out now. Over!" he answered quickly.

"Indeed? Perhaps we should ground Skull Wing for a few weeks for a full overhaul?" Captain Hayes inquired dangerously, her arms crossed over her chest. Vaguely, he thought he could hear Claudia snickering in the background.

"Negative, negative. All navigation systems and acceleration within normal parameters." Quickly, he switched the comm over to a private channel and waited until he heard the click on her end signaling her switching over as well.

"Hey Lisa, what's the deal? It was just a few minutes of fun." Concerned, now that he wasn't sweating the dressing down he could see coming, he realized Lisa was tense and angry. Not necessarily at him but someone had pushed her buttons.

He should know. Years of practice had taught him what most of those buttons did. There were those times when he'd pressed them unintentionally and to his shame quite a few times when he had done it on purpose.

"Nothing, Rick. Just a really rough time at those debriefings today. Maistroff is trying to move the RDF out. We really can't afford anything to make us look bad." She inclined her head to look down at him through her lashes.

"You mean like war heroes engaging in "amateur stunts?" He grimaced and could see her point. They were over a civilian population, after all, and Skull Wing with its specialized markings, was distinctly visible to the people below.

Lisa smiled sweetly when she realized he had figured out his error on his own. Her flyboy was really beginning to show his maturity. She could definitely relate to a desire to throw off the responsibility for awhile and have some fun. That he could indulge for a few minutes when she so desperately wanted to annoyed her at first. Then she remembered Gloval winking at her in the meeting and her own grin in support of Claudia.

"It's not that bad, Rick. Sorry I snapped at you. Like I said, it's just been rough here." Discreetly, she glanced around at the rest of the bridge crew. Gloval in his command chair smoking his pipe. Claudia faithfully manning her station beside Lisa and pretending to be deaf. The Trio sipping coffee and gossiping, all the time, pretending not to hear this private conversation going on not ten feet from them. Lisa's heart filled with love and affection for these people she had shared so much with. But duty and decorum dictated she not keep Rick in a personal line while he was patrolling. She prepared to cut the signal with another sweet smile at Rick.

He saw her getting ready to toggle out of private mode and stopped her real quick. "Hey Lisa, dinner tonight? I'll cook?" He offered one of his boyish smirks to her as his eyes danced.

"Your place or mine, hotshot?"

Rick hesitated and his smile faded briefly. "Yours." He recovered. "You have the better kitchen set-up!"

Lisa winced inwardly at his hesitation. _Oh please not another of those nights, _she thought to herself_._

Out loud she said, "1800 hours then?"

* * *

"Hunter, whatever you're making had better be worth this!"

Lisa surveyed the wreck that was her kitchen as Rick "prepared" dinner. To her, it looked like a supermarket had suffered an invasion of enemy forces. Rick had ingredients strewn across the counter and bags of groceries still on the floor untouched. Somehow, he had managed to get milk on the floor and flour in his hair. Pasta was boiling away as he quickly breaded veal and began to fry it on the stove. There was some complicated dessert already in the oven that Rick swore "would be ready just in time" for them to eat when dinner was finished. The scent of olive oil and garlic was prevalent in the air, as was the aroma of a heady red wine sauce with mushrooms that he had finished only a moment before. Somehow and she still wasn't sure how he managed this, but there was a red wine stain now on her ceiling. He insisted baking soda would take that out, no problem. He was grinning and tapping his feet to the small kitchen radio that he had turned on as soon as he had begun to cook. He began to hum as he worked and twitch in a way that she supposed could be contributed to the idea that he might be trying to move to the music.

All in all, she thought he was adorable.

"Best meal of your life, Lisa! I promise," he called over his shoulder enthusiastically. He moved from the stove and began to chop vegetables and other things for a salad.

"Here, let me help." Lisa moved over to the cutting board and tried acquire some of the produce and immediately felt something bounce off the top of her head. A moment later, the sensation was repeated and she realized Rick was bouncing croutons off her head.

"Back woman! Away from my kitchen!" Rick cried, launching another crouton.

"Your kitchen??" Lisa replied, fending off another volley.

Rick paused for only a minute. "Chef's prerogative. Retreat Captain, I mean it! Would you let me do this for you please?" He launched another crouton and watched Lisa snatch it from midair and pop it into her mouth. He watched her for a moment and reveled in her simple movements. He loved her eyes, sparkling, when she was playful and sharp flint when she was angry. Tonight, she was all twinkling emeralds for him. He felt his chest tighten with love and something more for this beautiful, strong woman.

"Um Rick? Is that pan supposed to be smoking?'

Biting off a curse, Rick jumped to rescue the veal.

* * *

"Ooooo! Riiiiiick!" Lisa reveled in pure pleasure. Her tongue feeling things they hadn't in ages. "This is wonderful!" Lisa moved forward and opened her mouth.

Rick teased her, bringing the spoonful of the gooey concoction to his own mouth and swallowed. His grandmother's triple-dipped, chocolate chip cookie with shaved chocolate, espresso beans, whips cream and caramel syrup really was just that good.

"No!" Lisa cried out in despair, as he grinned triumphantly at her. "You are an evil man Rick Hunter. Maybe I should put you in to interrogate POW's. You tease."

They were sitting on her couch where she was leaning with her back against the armrest and her legs on his thighs. He was feeding her directly from the pan he had baked the cookies in, claiming it was the only way to eat. Secretly, she suspected he couldn't get the cookies out of the pan.

In between bites, he was playfully rubbing her feet. For that alone, she would love him forever.

"Nah, Lisa. It's a talent I wanna keep for you. Besides, do you want everyone to know your weakness lies in chocolate?" He waggled his eyebrows at her and saw her blush.

"Not fair, Rick. You know far too many of my weaknesses AND how to get around them. I swear right now you could ask me for three months off and I'd give it to you just for another bite!" She chuckled, as Rick made airplane noises when he brought the spoon to her lips again.

"Trust me. You know my biggest weakness, Lisa," he answered, all playfulness gone for the moment. "It's you. It's always been you. I know how it seemed but you've got to believe me. It's you I'd always look for. If something was wrong or something was right you always came first to my mind. I'm sorry it took me so long to figure out what that meant." Rick's eyes were shining and he could feel himself beginning to tear up. It was so important that she believed him. That she understood. That she forgive him.

Lisa saw the hurt and the fear in his eyes. She also saw the love and sincerity and all she wanted at that moment was to ease the pain she knew he was feeling.

Slowly, she changed position on the couch setting the pan on the end table beside the couch, as she carefully straddled Rick's lap with her arms loosely around his neck. Gently, she leaned down and kissed him.

Rick responded immediately by placing his hands on either side of her waist, holding her to him, as he returned her kiss. So slowly, it was almost agonizing, he felt Lisa deepen the kiss between them, her mouth opening and her tongue softly, almost shyly, flicking at his bottom lip. He leaned back and pulled her closer against him. He could feel her love for him, as he allowed her to taste him. The bond between them, here, where it was just them, was so strong. He allowed himself to exist solely here with her now.

Lisa soared and flew in those moments. Her heart pounded, as she felt Rick's mouth open to her. He tasted of chocolate and caramel and something else that was uniquely him. She luxuriated in the feel of him, as he pulled her tight to his chest. Gently, she lowered herself so more of her weight rest against him. She felt his arms move up from around her waist to rub slow circles around her back as she continued to kiss him deeply. Lisa was in heaven and she moved her hands up to stroke and tangle through his dark hair. She was rewarded when he shifted slightly pulling more of her weight against him.

After only another moment, Rick jumped and nearly ended up tossing Lisa on the floor with the violence of his reaction. Seeing her startled expression, as she grasped the front of his shirt to save herself, he grimaced and gestured to his pocket.

"Sorry. Cell phones ringing. It's on vibrate..." he finished lamely. Quickly, he grabbed up the phone flipping it open and turning his back to her.

Lisa was dumbfounded. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. Over the past three weeks, since they had officially gotten together there had to have been at least half a dozen of these instances. They would be having a great time and things would begin to get physical. Rick would respond to her at first. Then it was like cold water would be dumped on him. It was always something. His cell phone ringing. A strat meeting with Skull that he forgot. One time, he even swore he left the gas on in his quarters. Which was really amusing seeing as how the officer's quarters didn't run on gas.

Rick Hunter did not lie well.

Outside, she appeared mildly annoyed and exasperated. Inside, she was a mess. Why did it seem like this man refused to be physically close to her? What was she doing wrong?

Rick ran a nervous hand through his hair as he glanced back towards Lisa sitting on the couch. After a moment, he closed his phone and turned back to her. His heart spasmed in his chest as he took in her slightly disheveled appearance. Her hair was mussed and her eyes were slightly glazed although they were flashing at him again. She was flushed and breathing quickly but deeply, her lips slightly swollen. And she was exactly where he had left her.

"I'm sorry, Lisa. That was the base. There's been some sort of part recall on those new emitters we put in those three new cannon fodders. I have to go sign off on the removal. It wouldn't be a big deal but I've got those new recruits looking to join Skull tomorrow. I have to have something that checks out safe for them to fly. I really am sorry," he finished lamely, hoping she would buy the story. Also hoping that she didn't think to check the reports filed by Vince on the status of aerial fleet.

"Of course Rick. I understand," Lisa replied, with no inflection to her voice whatsoever. She watched as Rick crossed back to her and very gently kissed her lips again. Softly and lovingly he held her face and smiled down at her.

"I love you." He whispered tenderly before straightening and heading to the kitchen to get his jacket.

"Umm…" Rick said intelligently, as he noticed that Lisa's kitchen could still be condemned for being a disaster area. He heard Lisa's low laughter, as he spun back around.

"Don't worry about it, Rick. I'll clean up but you owe me, Mister!" Lisa had her arms crossed over her chest as she mock-glared at him from her position on the couch. Then her eyes softened and he heard her whisper, "I love you too."

_

* * *

Hunter, you're some kind of an A-Class bonehead!_ Rick recited over and over to himself on the cold walk back to his quarters. What was the matter with him? Scratch that! He knew what his problem was. God! What that woman did to him in a matter of seconds! He blushed just thinking about his reaction to Lisa. The woman had to think him some kind of adolescent lecher! Zero to Mach 4 in nothing flat when she got that close to him! What the hell! Minmei had never affected him like that. Not even by half. He'd never felt that kind of…explosion in himself around her. Ever.

With Lisa, not only did he have this desire to hold and protect her but he liked to make her laugh and surprise her. He liked to be able to help her and he couldn't think of anyone else he could lean on like he could with her. She was strong when he was weak and she made him a better person with her maturity and gentle way of proving points. But that wasn't all. He'd been having some embarrassing reactions just by thinking about her. That got him some ribbing in the pilot's locker room just a week ago. Thankfully, Max had been there and had shut down a lot of the teasing from the guys from Ghost Squadron. As much respect as those guys had for him, Max was a bit of a legend. No…not for being a flying ace but for being married to Mirya! He may be involved with the enigmatic Captain Hayes but Max had married a Zentraedi and survived. Pilots by nature were an irreverent bunch and usually there was nothing off limits in the locker rooms. They needed to blow off adrenaline after all. It never used to bother him when they teased him about Minmei. Rick grimaced to himself. Maybe he could talk to Max about this.

He could just imagine how that conversation would go. "Hey Max, I've got this problem. You see, I've never been with a woman before and I'm afraid Lisa's gonna laugh me out of the bedroom! Any help here?" He groaned audibly as he reached his apartment and let himself in. Yeah, that would go over well.

As he got ready for bed, he had only two thoughts in his mind. The first was that he could be with Lisa right now. The second, was that he was quite simply the biggest moron in the world.

* * *

Claudia watched from her station as Lisa entered the bridge the following morning looking tired and wan. Something wasn't right at all. Unless Rick was keeping her up nights! She smiled inwardly at the thought. But no, whatever this was it didn't look like that type of loss of sleep.

_Oh Roy, what have these two done now?_ Claudia thought to herself as Lisa manned her station. A quick glance at the Trio got Sammie's attention and Claudia glanced pointedly at the coffee maker.

Sammie got the message and got up to get her CO a cup of coffee. "Good morning Captain! Thought you could use this," she said cheerfully as she handed Lisa the cup.

"Sammie you're a lifesaver! I got up late today and didn't have a chance to stop. Thanks so much girls. It's good to know I've got you watching out for me!"

"Only cuz you watch out for us!" The youngest of the trio responded before practically skipping back to her station to trade stories of the night before with Kim and Vanessa.

"So ladies, let's have a status report!" Lisa ordered, as she sipped her cup.

"All systems are nominal, Captain. Internal communications responding at 97.5 percent," Claudia replied all business once more. At Claudia's cue, the rest of the trio recited the readiness of their own stations as Lisa nodded in approval. It was an old dance and one of the most comforting things among them. They all fit in a complex pattern neither one more important than any other and it was reassuring to have all the parts in working order. Lisa knew she could never have a better working relationship with any of them. And she also knew she could never have better friends.

"Admiral Gloval sent a communiqué this morning to let you know that he was to be in Monument today surveying the site for the new secondary barracks and airfield for training the new cadets. In other words, he's gonna be gone all day again," Claudia said in not quite a sing-song voice when she saw Lisa's mouth twitch. They all knew how Gloval hated the political end of his command.

He had once told Lisa he'd rather face an entire fleet of the enemy than endure one more dedication ceremony.

"Claudia please call down to engineering to Vince and have him send me all the requisite reports on the flight status of all Veritechs in Skull and Ghost squadrons. Down to and including those three new training Veritechs Rick requisitioned." Lisa's voice was casual but the request didn't fool Claudia in the least. Those weren't standard reports for even a flight coordinator to request. Usually those reports were only ever handled by Squadron leaders.

Several moments went by during which Claudia contacted her baby brother and requested the reports. Finally, Claudia deemed it safe to approach Lisa on something other than business. Armed with a low fat blueberry muffin and a refill of coffee she set out to find out what was wrong with her closest friend.

"Hey honey," Claudia drawled softly, nudging Lisa with her hip. Lisa grinned and accepted the offerings and turned to speak quietly with her friend for a few minutes.

"So you gonna tell Aunt Claudia or am I gonna have to drag it out of you? Again." Claudia allowed herself a moment to study her friend. She didn't like what she saw at all. Lisa was tired and her green eyes were listless and dull. Something was very wrong here again. She finally had her flyboy. She should be on cloud nine!

"Oh it's nothing, Claudia." Lisa tried gamely to stick to her story but Claudia's patient eyes and subtle smile were just a shade too knowing. Besides, Claudia had never steered her wrong in the past.

"Ok it's nothing I can talk about here," Lisa amended.

"Fine do you wanna do dinner? Or would lunch be better? I hear there's this great little Greek place just opened downtown. I've been dying to try it! Hey Vanessa? Where was that place you three picked up those three Ensigns last week?" Claudia called over her shoulder.

A chorus of giggling greeted her question and it was Kim who chose to answer, "It's across from the White Dragon and I hear it's giving them a run for their money too. It's called Stavros. I sorta know the owner. Do you need a table? I could give Steven a call." Kim was blushing now as Sammie and Vanessa ooohed and ahhhhed.

"Oh Steven is it?"

"He was Mister Tsantopolous to me!!" Sammie cried.

"Settle down ladies," Claudia called the Trio to order again. "Sure can you get a table for three this afternoon for lunch?"

To Lisa she said, "I was supposed to meet Jean today. You don't mind, do you? Maybe we could take an "officers lunch"? You know, do some shopping and relax for a little while?"

"I don't know Claudia. Admiral Gloval is counting on me to be here," Lisa hesitated. It wasn't that she didn't like Jean Grant, Claudia's sister in law; it was more that she wasn't sure she could talk about what was really going on. The two had only met a few times after all. Jean was studying to be a doctor and didn't have a lot of time just lately.

"We can keep the ship together and in one piece for an afternoon Lisa!" Vanessa called out. "I promise we'll contact you if we need you!!"

Lisa hemmed and hawed for a few more moments until the persistence of the trio wore her down and she relented. Claudia beamed and demanded that since they were playing hooky in the afternoon they get some work done in the morning. All eyes turned back to their screens as they worked steadily for a few hours. Claudia was so engrossed she almost missed the gasp coming from her left as Lisa finally received the flight stat reports from engineering. She turned to find out what was wrong but a glance at Lisa demanded her silence. At least until they were alone together. Captain Lisa Hayes was biting her lower lip and hugging herself as if she were freezing. She clutched the sheaf of reports in her left hand and Claudia could see by the papers that Lisa was trembling.

_Oh little brother mine, what have you done to her now?_ Claudia thought to herself as she began to secure her station in preparation for her absence that afternoon.

* * *

Rick Hunter was watching himself at 16. A very young sixteen at that. "Baker! Knock it off! You're a pilot not some kind of…" he broke off as he realized he'd been about to say some amateur. Over the TACnet Rick could hear Max chuckle.

"Just knock it off and fly it straight or I swear you won't be in Skull long enough to get your helmet painted!"

"Aye that Captain! Sorry had a slight throttle control error! Seems to be worked out now!" the young hotshot replied. Rick groaned and resisted the urge to rub his eyes. He had a headache today as a result of not sleeping at all last night and he wasn't in a good mood. Over the comm he heard Max's voice, "Gee, Skull seems to be having a lot of those minor malfunctions lately!"

"Belt up, Sterling!" Rick snapped.

Today he was testing out the newly dubbed Silver Squad to see if they could handle a role in Skull Squadron. If Skull Wing didn't approve they would be sent back to Ghost Squadron for more training. Skull only took the best. Baker's wingmen were actually wing_women_ and Rick was glad to see them. They were actually very good pilots and with more experience he'd welcome them in battle. If they could control Baker. Karen Penn seemed to him what a young Mirya might have been. She was ice cold in the seat and very tactically correct. She lacked natural panache but she did have ability. Sue Graham was obviously still rookie enough to make mistakes. And he could tell she was concentrating hard. She was rolling with the punches well. Maybe she would ground Baker a little more and keep him in control.

"Ok Baker take your Squad through some evasive maneuvers. Show us what you got!" Rick watched the young pilots with only half his concentration on the flight. The other half was on Lisa. He had to make this up to her. He knew he was making her uncomfortable. After a few minutes he'd seen enough of the young pilots to make his call. A few private words with his wing and Skull gained three new members. Now he could take them home. Quickly, he toggled the TACnet to bring up SDF-1 control. "Hey Captain Hayes!" he called over the line and was shocked to find Sammie manning her station.

"Sorry Captain Hunter but Captain Hayes has the afternoon off with Commander Grant. Is there something I can do for you?"

"Off? She didn't tell me she had the afternoon off," Rick sputtered. Sammie's slightly annoyed voice came back over the line. "Maybe she didn't feel she had to clear it with you first Captain!"

"Well I just wanted to report Skull Wing and Silver Squad returning to base. Can I get some landing instructions, please?"

"Roger Skull Wing and Silver Squad you are cleared for landing on Prometheus deck two. Welcome home!"

Rick quickly landed and taxied his plane over to the crew chief who today happened to be Vince Grant.

"Hey Chief, anything new today?" Rick said by way of greeting the large man as he hopped out of the cockpit.

"Nothing new Captain but something kind of odd. Are we due for an inspection or something? I mean you guys in Skull have always been great about letting us know ahead of time but I haven't heard anything," Vince replied nervously. He liked his men to look good.

"Not that I'm aware of. Why do you ask?" Rick felt his heart turn to lead and his blood turn to ice. Ironically, he was sweating.

"Well, it's just that Captain Hayes requested the FitRed reports on the fleet today. Usually she only does that if she's planning to inspect us up."

This time Rick did rub his eyes. "Dammit!" He glanced over and saw the startled reaction of the young lieutenant to his outburst. "Sorry Vince. No I'm sure there's no inspection. Don't worry, I'll take care of it." With that he patted the big man on the arm and headed to the showers. "Oh!" He called over his shoulder. "Do me a favor and don't paint Baker's rig yet....I wanna make him sweat a little!" Rick grinned that cocky pilot's grin that Vince knew and had seen before, usually on the face of the best pilots. Vince had last seen it before on a young man four years ago.

Roy Fokker.

* * *

Lisa was having a great afternoon. She and Claudia and Jean had gone shopping and for the fun of it had gotten manicures. Now they were grabbing a late lunch before it was off for more shopping. It was improving her mood immensely until she heard a sound overhead and looked up.

She could see six Veritechs in formation. She watched for a moment as three of the six split off into some pretty complex evasive maneuvers. She strained her eyes a bit at the fast-moving targets and was sure she could make out the red, blue and YES there it was! The Jolly Roger markings of Skull 1. So, Rick was testing those new recruits after all. Rick. She sighed.

_Oh Rick what is going on with you?_

Jean cut across Lisa's thoughts by dragging her into the restaurant. "C'mon Lisa I'm starved!" Lisa laughed as Claudia just rolled her eyes skyward in a bid for patience towards her young sister-in-law.

Jean tended to attack life in the way that made people realize how much they were missing. She had a single-minded determination to enjoy every moment whether it was her studies, her husband, or a day on the town. She even made pregnancy look easy! At three months along she was starting to get her appetite and made no bones about it as they placed their orders.

"So then Lisa. Let's have it." Claudia had had just about enough of Lisa staring off into space and being preoccupied. She was missing prime girl's day out activities here!

Lisa sighed and covered her face with her napkin. "Would it do any good to say I don't want to talk about it?" she asked hopefully.

"No!" The duo chorused in unison.

From behind the napkin they heard Lisa groan. "Fine!" She steeled herself as she would for a battle and said in a rush, "..."

Claudia's fork paused on the way to her mouth unsure if she heard correctly and Jean wondered if Lisa was going to pass out from lack of oxygen over.

Claudia shook herself out of her confusion and reached across to pull the napkin away from the younger woman's face. Lisa's face was glowing and her eyes were panicked.

"Ok honey. Let's have the full story here. You know Aunt Claudia can't help without more details than that. And can I have it in normal speed this time? I know Jean is certified in CPR but I wanna be able to come back here someday!" Claudia tried to diffuse the tension gently.

Lisa nodded and some of the flush disappeared from her cheeks. What would she do without this woman in her life? Slowly, Lisa took a deep breath.

Prudently, Jean had decided to remain quiet and watch as her sister-in-law worked her magic. But she paid attention to it all. Claudia was a remarkable woman. Full of love and generosity. The world hadn't been kind to Claudia, taking the love of her life the way it did. But Claudia seemed to take it in stride as she put her effort into those she loved and who loved her.

"Last night Rick and I were having a wonderful dinner and he was being really very sweet. He was feeding me some triple-chocolate dipped concoction that he totally destroyed my kitchen over. Yeah he cooked!" Lisa got a silly grin on her face remembering the flour in his hair.

"Well he got really insistent about trying to reassure me that he loved me and I reached over and started to kiss him. Well things were going well. Well enough that I was sitting on his lap." Lisa mumbled the last words and Claudia was tempted to make her repeat them just on principle. Sometimes Lisa got embarrassed a little too easily. Making out with your flyboy on the couch was something to brag about not hide!

"And?" Claudia prodded.

"And he was….interested. Then he just stiffened up and nearly tossed me on the floor as he stood up supposedly to answer his phone. He said it was on vibrate." Lisa fumbled a little for the words here. "It never rang Claudia. I mean I would have…" Lisa gestured a little too wildly and the older woman decided to rescue her.

"You would have felt it," Claudia offered quietly. Lisa nodded an affirmative and blushed even harder.

"Then he gave me some story about having to have parts replaced on those VTs he ordered for Skull," Lisa finished miserably.

"Aha! That's why you pulled those reports this morning. I knew something wasn't right. Oh sweetie." All the sympathy in the world was in Claudia's voice as she patted Lisa on the arm. "I take it this isn't the first time something like this has gone on?" Lisa just covered her face with her hands and shook her head. A moment later, her shoulders were shaking and she was trembling silently.

Claudia was on her feet in an instant with her arms around her friend and sister. Quietly she was whispering to her that everything would be ok. In just a moment, her arms were joined by Jean's. It took so much to get Lisa to break down like this. And in public!

_Roy! If you can here me love I wish you would smack your little brother!_

As the two woman supported her physically and emotionally Lisa had the courage to whisper softly, "What's wrong with me?!?" Claudia caught Jean's eyes and saw that Jean was flustered. She wasn't used to seeing "tough as nails" Captain Hayes in this state.

Claudia's lips were drawn in a hard line. Now she was annoyed and that didn't bode well for young Mister Hunter. "Nothings wrong with you Honey. Odds are something's wrong with _him_! I've always said pilot's heads are made of granite! That family in particular!" She felt Lisa stiffen in her arms and a moment later she identified a young feminine voice. Alarm bells went off in her head as she realized who was speaking from the next table over.

"I couldn't keep Rick off of me. Sometimes it was like he was an octopus!" Minmei giggled. "In the end I had to leave him just because I couldn't keep up with him physically anymore if you know what I mean!" The two women Minmei was with laughed high and shrill as they continued their discussion regarding young Hunter's "attributes."

It didn't matter to Minmei that she was lying. All that mattered was that there was perfect Lisa Hayes. The woman who had taken everything from her so quietly and circumspectly that Minmei had never even seen the danger. She wanted to hurt her the way she was being hurt.

Jean was already paying the check and Lisa was just a zombie. Her worst fears confirmed she sat motionless. Eventually, Claudia tugged her out of her seat and they headed to the front of the restaurant. So intent was Claudia on getting Lisa out of the line of fire she never noticed that Jean hadn't followed them. She looked back to hear her sister in law compliment Minmei on her dress. A pretty turquoise that day.

"Oh Miss Minmei!" Jean exclaimed, pumping the star's hand furiously just like any good fan would do. "It's such an honor to meet you! What a beautiful dress? Is that silk?"

"Why yes it is how kind of you to notice!" Minmei preened under the attention and never noticed Jean pick up the wine bottle from the table.

"Yes well I don't think it's quite your color! Try it now!" With that Jean Grant emptied the four hundred dollar bottle of merlot on the star and without a backward glance marched to the exit to help Claudia who was watching her with a mixture of pride and exasperation. Lisa was watching her with nothing short of joy and gratefulness.

"Well I guess we won't be coming back here after all!" Claudia bit her lip to keep from laughing as Jean rejoined them looking pleased with herself.

"It's ok. The grape leaves were a little too tough for me anyway," Lisa replied in a tone just slightly off her normal voice. Startled, the other women glanced at Lisa and started to laugh.

* * *

As they moved through the city window shopping, Claudia and Jean were trying to reassure Lisa.

"You know you can't trust a thing that girl says!" Jean said as she stopped in front of a clothing store and glanced in the window.

"I don't know Jean. He was living with her for two weeks before everything happened," Lisa began.

"That doesn't mean anything honey. He could have just been helping a friend. You know Rick's not the type to toss anyone out in the snow. C'mon lets go in here!" Claudia dragged the other two into a stylish lingerie shop. Lisa needed a confidence booster. Unfortunately, she was looking more mortified than confident at the moment.

"What are we doing here?" Lisa practically squeaked.

Claudia and Jean ignored her as Jean picked up some little satiny slip of fabric. "Too bad in another month or two all I'll be able to do is look at this!"

"Well its things like that Sister that got you in the state you're in! Put it down now honey! One nephew at a time, please!" Claudia teased.

The two women continued to tease each other choosing more outrageous items until they noticed Lisa was still standing by the door.

Claudia was getting a little fed up with Lisa's puritanical ways today. It was time to drag the woman in her out by force if necessary. Lisa was a beautiful woman even though she would never believe it. She had a figure that made Claudia want to scratch her eyes out and deep emerald eyes that deepened and changed colors with her moods. Yet most of the time she hid herself behind the armor of the RDF's officer attire. It would do her good to have a few things in the house for the pure joy of being a woman. Not to mention the effect she was sure it would have on Rick.

_That boy always had to make things more complicated than they needed to be!_

"C'mon Lisa! You've gotta let us have some fun! You're the only of us in a new relationship. That's the part when all this is the most exciting. Why I remember this little gold number I had gotten when Roy and I first got serious. Well, I tell you I couldn't get him outta my quarters with a call to battle." Claudia grinned impishly as she saw Lisa's eyes spark with memories.

"Yes I remember coming by to drop off your shift schedules that night!" Lisa replied with a sarcastic grin.

"Well how was I supposed to know you'd come into the bathroom!" Claudia defended as the two friends dissolved into laughter. She remembered that day well. Lisa had gotten quite an eyeful. It had been months before she could look Roy in the eye directly again!

"Now it's your turn, Hon! C'mon lets find something to knock your flyboy outta the sky and into your…"

"Ok ok!" Lisa held up a hand forestalling the rest of Claudia's statement. For the next two hours she let the women have their way with her although at times she felt like a doll as they dressed her up. They pronounced certain colors more to their liking than others and certain fabrics more seductive than others.

As if that wasn't enough as soon as the sales people figured out what was going on they seemed to gain their own "personal" shoppers.

Lisa had to admit in a quiet hidden corner of her mind that she was enjoying herself.

_Maybe Claudia has a point after all!_

Finally the Dark Duo pronounced Lisa "fit for action" and they were allowed to leave. The sky was dark when they left with only the first stars showing and they decided to catch a cab back to their quarters. Before she got out at her quarters Lisa surprised herself by hugging not only Claudia but Jean affectionately as she bid her friends goodnight.

* * *

Rick was lounging with Max at the Set-Up and having a beer. Mirya was home with Dana and Max was being allowed a boys night out for a change.

"God, Max! That Baker is gonna kill us all! You know Vince caught him trying to paint his own plane this afternoon?" Rick had this hangdog expression on his face that made Max laugh out loud.

"Well he does remind me of a certain loudmouthed young pilot. Name of Hunter! I seem to remember someone deciding that his wing could take on just about anything and circling around a battle to come in from the back. Thank God for Commander Fokker!" Max teased.

Rick had the grace to blush as he remembered that particular fight. He was hell bent on showing "that old sourpuss" that he deserved his promotion to Vermillion Squad leader. Roy had had to come bail him, Ben and Max outta serious trouble. Roy had berated him like an amateur and Lisa had been screaming bloody murder over the TACnet at him until he was on deck again. Threats like court martial had come from both Lisa and Roy.

Well Rick had learned his lesson. He never did anything that stupid again.

Nope he did all kinds of other stupid things instead.

"So how's it going with you and Lisa Rick? Can't say I've seen you around the ball court lately. Been pretty busy huh? I can't say I blame you! Lisa is one special lady, Boss. I'm glad you finally pulled your head out of space and looked around you!"

Rick slugged back his beer and signaled John for another one. Normally he wasn't any kind of drinker but he'd tried to call Lisa at home earlier and all he got was her answering service. He figured she was probably still sore at him for last night. So he had headed out to find Max.

"It's going ok Max," Rick temporized.

"Then why aren't you with her tonight, Skipper?" Max asked shooting straight for the heart like the ace pilot he was.

Rick grimaced.

"I think she's mad at me today."

"Already? Gee! What did you do now?"

"Hey! It's not like that Max! Just a…a misunderstanding is all!" Rick defended.

"Ahh. I know about misunderstandings. Think of the coffeepots I've needed over the years." Max winked and smiled as he saw his CO relax a little. Whatever was wrong, Rick wasn't ready to talk about it. At least not to Max. Not yet.

"Well don't wait too long to try to talk to her about it. Whatever it is. Trust me the longer you leave it the worse it will be!" Max advised.

Rick nodded and changed the subject. "C'mon lets head over to that arcade you used to like. I'll let you beat me at some insanely complicated game."

"It's only complicated for the less agile among us," Max retorted as he headed for the door leaving Rick to settle the bar tab.

* * *

Two hours later Rick was being lambasted in yet another flying game. How? He had no idea. Max was super quick in his VT but on these games he was almost super human.

"Ok ok I'm about done in. Looks like the bar tab is mine for the next month huh?" Rick said acknowledging defeat.

"Always glad to play with you, Skipper!" Max teased.

Together they gathered up their separate piles of coins and headed towards the door when Rick saw something that caught his eye. It was a small teddy bear wearing a green ribbon the exact shade of Lisa's eyes. It was holding a small red rose between its paws.

"Hang on Max!" Rick called as he went over and exchanged his evening's winnings for a bear no larger than his closed fist. It was cute and it made him think of Lisa. He'd give it to her when he saw her again.

Max was grinning like a schoolboy. "Gee, Rick. I never knew you were such a softie!"

"Aww stuff it, Max!"

* * *

Truth was he was still upset and couldn't figure out how to talk to Lisa about what was going on with him.

_It's bad enough that she's older than me. But she was engaged to Karl too! _ he thought as he kicked at a rock on the sidewalk. How was she ever going to understand his lack of experience? How was he ever going to be enough for her? She was a beautiful, vibrant, sexy woman. For all intents and purposes he might as well be 12 years old! Rick saw Max off in a cab and started his walk home. He wanted to clear his head. It was true that he had dated when he was in the circus but never anything serious. There had been nights of casual kissing and caressing but no one he'd ever felt comfortable enough to go all the way with. How was he supposed to tell her that he was worried that he was going to embarrass himself and be unable to satisfy her? That would be a conversation for the books.

Then he would lose her.

And he couldn't let that happen.

_Big Brother, I really wish you were here. This is just too much for me and the only one I think of who can help me is you! I don't want to lose Lisa but I don't want to drive her away either._

He groaned out loud.

"Well now that doesn't sound too good, Captain," came the eternally optimistic voice of Claudia from out of the dark. From the looks of things, she'd been waiting for him at his door.

"Oh hey, Claudia. What are you doing here?" Rick asked and then mentally kicked himself. He and Claudia tended to seek each other out to talk about Roy or around the anniversary of his death but they didn't have a lot of social interaction.

Rick had always regretted that. But he didn't know how to get closer to Claudia without upsetting her by reminding of her Roy.

"Oh, nothing much. I just had the urge to come see my little brother." Claudia smiled and recognized the quick look of shock pass through Rick's eyes as he realized the accuracy of her endearment.

Impulsively, Rick reached over and hugged Claudia tightly. "It's good to see you too Big Sister," he whispered as he held her against him as if seeking shelter.

Claudia held Rick and felt him tremble. _Poor baby_, she thought. _I always forget that he really doesn't have any family left anymore. _

"C'mon Rick, let's head inside and you can get my old bones some tea!"

Rick opened the door and immediately began to make the tea she had requested.

"Claudia I really wanna apologize for not keeping in better touch with you it's just that I don't want to..." he trailed off lamely and glanced over to see Claudia sitting at his table. Her chin on one hand smiling sweetly at him.

"I know, baby. It's hard for me, sometimes, to see you too. You seem so much like him when he was your age. You know, don't you, how proud Roy would be of you right now?"

Rick smiled widely and his eyes sparkled with hope and he said in a rush, "You really think so Claud? I mean, I've made so many mistakes these last few years. Do you think he'd be ok with the changes I've made to Skull? Or that I'm flying his plane?"

These were all questions he had wanted to ask her at least a thousand times. But it never seemed the right time. Tonight seemed different somehow. Claudia seemed different. Maybe more open to him in some way.

"Oh I don't think you need to worry about that, sweetheart. Roy would be thrilled at how Skull's grown under your command. And if Roy couldn't fly anymore, I can't think of anyone else he'd rather see flying Skull One. One thing he wouldn't be pleased with, though, is that you still think of her as his plane. She's yours, Rick. You've flown her longer than he did now. Or hadn't you thought of that?"

The tea kettle in Rick's hand was overflowing as he stood there dumbfounded. Claudia's rich laughter brought him back to himself and quickly he shut the water off.

"I'd never thought of that," Rick admitted sheepishly.

"It's good that you never forget him but you've gotta let yourself move out from his shadow, honey. He never wanted you to fly against him or his ghost!"

Rick nodded, lost in thought.

"I never really thought of that. I guess I've just always assumed I got Skull by default. I'd give it all up, though, to have Roy back. I swear I would!" Rick spoke without thinking.

"Does that include Lisa?"

Rick's head snapped up at the same time all the air left his lungs as if he'd been sucker-punched.

"No!" he blurted without thinking.

"Hmmm. Good! I was wondering if I was going to have to beat you with your helmet, Flyboy! So tell me. Why is my best friend moping around like her dog died when she should be glued to your side these days, hmm?"

Rick blushed and tried to stall. "Ummm."

Claudia rolled her eyes. Oh yes. She could see that there was obviously something bothering Rick beyond the obvious. She accepted the cup of tea from him and noticed his hand trembling.

"Well?" Claudia prompted again when it seemed he wouldn't speak again.

"I'm not sure really," Rick lied.

"Well it's nice to know you didn't inherit Roy's ability to dissemble, Rick. Whatever it is it can't be that bad!" Claudia winked and grinned.

"That's all you know!" Rick declared.

"You have to know that I would have heard Lisa's side of the story by now, Rick. Why don't you just talk to me? I'm sure I could help," Claudia offered compassionately.

"Thanks Claudia. I really appreciate the offer but I really think this is something I have to get past on my own. I just…I mean…it's just that…you're…" Rick stumbled and averted his eyes.

"A woman? Older than you? Lisa's best friend? All of the above?" Claudia offered, sagely.

Rick nodded miserably.

Claudia sipped her tea in silence for a few minutes. "You know I'm here for you if you do decide to talk to me. You know, you might just want to try talking to Lisa. She loves you, Rick. There isn't a thing she wouldn't do for you."

"That's just it! She loves me. God knows why! I can't disappoint her or hurt her again Claudia. She won't put up with that forever and she's already put up with too much of it! How do I know the next time won't be the time she leaves me? She would have left me…that day," he finished quietly.

"Circumstances were different then. Minmei was living with you and Lisa thought she'd lost you forever. It was the hardest decision I've ever seen her make. And it about killed her that day. The thought of leaving you." She got up from the table and put her cup in the sink as she gathered up her coat.

"I don't think you're giving her enough credit, Rick. Her or yourself. In a relationship things like this don't work out unless you talk it out. You can't be afraid of talking with her. That's the one thing that would drive her away. You know, I do believe Roy would be thrilled to see the two of you in love and together now. I think he knew about you two before anyone else. And he was always very fond of Lisa."

Claudia leaned over and kissed Rick's cheek. "Night honey. No, don't get up. I can see myself out. You just think about what I said!"

And with that she let herself out into the night.

* * *

Lisa Hayes was dancing with Roy Fokker.

"Hey there, Lisa!" Roy said as he twirled them around the floor dramatically.

Lisa looked around her and realized she was at the first RDF ball.

"Impossible!"

"Nothing's impossible here, kiddo," Roy replied, dipping her. Reflexively, Lisa clung to his biceps. She couldn't help but flush when she saw his grinning face above her. This was almost a memory.

But there were subtle differences. Roy was wearing his Lt. Commander's purple and black RDF uniform instead of his dress uniform. And he was the same age he was when he…

"I've missed you all, Lisa. But what is it that has my favorite Admiral's daughter so distraught these days?" He held her confidently but carefully as he guided them through the dance. Lisa realized the floor was empty except for the two of them. Another difference.

"What am I doing here?" Lisa mused aloud.

"Dancing with the most handsome pilot you've ever met!" Roy joked.

"Second most maybe," Lisa said automatically.

Roy grinned and nodded his approval. "So you've really fallen for him, huh? Well that's just great Lisa! You two are perfect for each other. I'm so happy for both of you. I've been hoping for this for years. I gotta tell you; at times I wasn't sure it was going to happen at all. Rick can be stubborn you know!"

"Tell me about it!" Lisa groaned.

"He doesn't mean anything by it. He's just really hard-headed sometimes. But I can tell you this, Lisa. He loves you. If I can feel it where I am, then it's gotta be pretty strong. And I know my little brother. When he makes his mind up about something, well, it stays that way unless he has a pretty compelling reason to change."

Lisa nodded and moved with Roy to the music for another moment looking down and away from the tall pilot.

Roy placed his fingers under her chin and tilted her head up to meet his eyes. "Gee, Lisa it's hard to dance with someone who wont look you in the eyes. I thought you were over that little incident!" Roy teased.

Lisa flushed and grinned despite herself. "I was...I mean I am. But it was a lot to get over!" Together, the two friends shared a warm laugh and Roy hugged Lisa a little closer.

"You know it's not you, don't you? Rick isn't sure of himself right now. But the things that are confusing him…they're his baggage. And they have nothing to do with how he feels about you," Roy said gently, pulling Lisa against his chest and resting his chin on the top of her head as he spoke.

"Just give him a little more time, Lisa. He'll come around. I promise you," Roy said, serious now as his voice began to echo and grow distant. "Listen, this is important. I want to thank you for taking such good care of Rick and Claudia for me. I mean it. I rest easier because they have you in their lives."

Roy had stopped dancing now as the music faded away. Lisa tried to hold onto him but it was like holding smoke. "Wait! Roy!" Lisa called in vain, beginning to feel the loss of her friend again. It was a darkness that caused tears to run down her face as she reached out for the charismatic pilot.

"I've never left any of you Lisa, not really. And I won't leave now. Just remember what I said! Thanks for the dance, kiddo! You should try it with Rick sometime." Lisa saw him wink at her and then he was gone.

Lisa sat upright in bed reaching for...something. Her cheeks were wet and for a moment all she felt in her heart was emptiness and loss. Then she noticed a sound. The small clock radio in her bedroom was playing. She knew it had been off when she'd gone to bed but there it was on and playing.

More than that, it was playing the song her and Roy had danced to all those years ago. Lisa felt the darkness lift from her heart as she remembered Roy's words and his advice to her.

"I've missed you too, Roy," she whispered quietly as she settled back into the pillows listening to the music. Somehow, no matter what happened she knew that she and Rick would be ok now. It didn't make sense but maybe it didn't have to.

Smiling, Lisa drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Elsewhere, Roy Fokker smiled and moved on.

Claudia had gotten home from Rick's house, kicked off her shoes and settled in to rest and relax. She had barely settled on the sofa when she'd fallen asleep. But something was tugging her away now. It was a sound. Gentle and sweet.

Guitar music.

She opened her eyes and smiled in welcome. Dreams of Roy weren't scarce by any means but each one was to be treasured and enjoyed. Tonight, he was sitting across from her in one of the reclining chairs strumming his old guitar and watching her softly.

"Hey beautiful," he greeted and laughed as she got up and moved over to sit in his lap.

"I've missed you, Claudia. So much," he whispered, as he settled her on his lap and she buried her face into his neck. He could feel her tears against his skin. Briefly, he cursed fate that had kept them apart for so long. _Get a grip, flyboy, you're here for her! Shape up and fly right!_

Something about this dream felt so different. More solid. More real. Whatever it was, Claudia didn't waste time analyzing it.

"Roy! I've missed you too."

"It's ok, beautiful. I'm here on personal business this time." He drew back to look into those dark eyes he loved so much.

"You've been so brave and so strong. I've been so very proud of you! The way you've stepped outside your own pain to help Lisa has made me love you even more. Which I didn't even know was possible."

"You don't have to thank me, Roy. I love Lisa and Rick like family. I haven't done very well by Rick lately but I'm hoping that will change." Claudia lowered her eyes from him, reminded of her thoughts earlier in the evening.

"I understand and it's not just your fault you two haven't talked much. And I WILL be speaking to him too. But it just seems to me you two could be of so much help and comfort to each other. It would mean so much to me to see you two get closer," Roy tried to explain.

"I understand love and I'll do my best. I promise." Claudia hugged his neck and breathed in the scent of his aftershave her body reacting strongly to that scent.

Roy felt her body react in his arms.

_Aw hell! In for a penny, in for a pound! _

Technically, it wasn't even against the rules! Besides, what were they gonna do to him? Take his wings?

Mind made up, he gathered Claudia in his arms and carried her into her bedroom.

"Roy, what?" Claudia asked surprised.

"Boy! Has it been that long that you've forgotten?" he teased, leaning in to kiss her deeply as he lay her down on her bed and began to undress her.

Time ceased to have meaning as Roy Fokker reaffirmed his love for this exciting, passionate, caring woman. Roy was intent on taking this opportunity and insistent on reminding Claudia that no matter what, she was loved.

For Claudia, it was nothing short of ecstasy as Roy and she made love like teenagers.

Finally, spent, she rested in his arms. It was awhile before he spoke and when he did she moved to look into his eyes.

"I love you, Claudia and I know you love me. And that will never change, but that doesn't mean you can't be happy. Go out. Find someone to spend time with. And know that if you can find someone to love that it doesn't mean you love me any less. And understand that I will understand! We will be together again but there's no reason you have to spend your time alone!"

"I love you, kid," Roy said, as he traced her lips with his finger.

Claudia heard him as if from far away and watched with sadness as he faded from her sight.

"Roy!" she called, desperately, waking and sitting up in her bed.

Something wasn't right. She could have sworn she had fallen asleep on the couch. And she could have sworn that she had been clothed when she did. Bemused, she glanced down to see her clothes scattered in a path that led to her bed. She could swear she could hear a low masculine chuckle.

She was just about to call Jean for an emergency appointment, thinking she had had some kind of a psychotic episode, when a strangely familiar scent reached her nostrils. She leaned forward and picked up the pillow beside her.

_Roy's aftershave! _

He had never even been in these quarters! He'd already passed away by the time New Macross was settled.

Hugging the pillow to her tightly and breathing in that beloved scent, she thought over all that had happened in her 'dream'.

It was so like him to come back to take care of her just when she needed him most. Carefully, laying back down and snuggling into the pillow, Claudia Grant fell asleep and had quiet dreams.

Elsewhere, Roy Fokker crushed out his cigarette and moved on.

* * *

Rick was lying in his bed, staring up at the model biplane with iron cross markings that hung from his ceiling. Even in the darkness, he could see the cracks and the lines of old yellowing glue. He had broken this model once upon a time but there was no way he would have gotten rid of it. Usually, staring up at the old Fokker Bi-Plane brought him some peace and was able to let him rest. Tonight, it just made him miss the man who had given it to him. Eventually, exhaustion caught up with him and he slept.

He was flying through the air in an open cockpit, soaring as the wind whipped through his dark hair. It only took a moment for him to realize he was in an old biplane. The same type that Roy had taught him how to fly in many years ago.

Rick laughed in delight and sent the plane into a high-altitude climb. At the height of the climb, the plane seemed to freeze, hanging suspended in the air before Rick nudged the controls, sending the plane into a nose dive.

"Hang on, Hotshot! You wanna put her in a stall?" a voice yelled from behind him.

Turning behind him, he realized he had a co-pilot for this flight and Rick felt his heart fill with emotion as he saw his big brother bring the nose of the plane up before the propellers could cut out. Belatedly, Rick realized he had let go of the stick when he'd heard Roy's voice.

"Hey little brother, close your mouth or you're gonna catch flies!" Roy joked, as he landed the biplane in a meadow with yellow flowers. He hopped out of the plane and waited for Rick to join him.

"That was some pretty fancy flying there but why do I get the feeling you aren't enjoying it as much as you should?" Roy asked, slinging his arm around his friend's shoulders as he led him from the plane. Abruptly, the scene around them changed and they were now overlooking Lake Gloval from an observation port on the SDF-1.

Rick didn't quite know what was going on. He'd dreamt of his big brother before but then it had always been scenes of Rick swooping in and taking the hit that would doom Roy. Or it had involved Rick saving Roy in some heroic gesture that would live on forever.

As would Roy.

Very rarely did they ever just…talk. And Roy never told him off in his dreams.

"C'mon Rick. Talk to me. I know something's got ya down," Roy cajoled. "Is it Minmei? Do you regret being with Lisa now?"

Rick turned on his brother, his blue eyes darkened with anger. "Gee you know for a ghost you're sure outta touch Roy!"

Roy chuckled and held up his hands, as if to ward off Rick's anger. "Easy there. I was just checking to make sure you knew what was good for you! I mean...c'mon. You did kinda cling to that whole thing a lot longer than you should have!" Roy scolded.

"Yeah well, maybe I wouldn't have if you hadn't…" Rick bit off the angry words he was about to say. It wasn't Roy's fault he had died, leaving Rick virtually alone in the world.

Roy's eyes widened, as he felt the cold sting of Rick's anger towards him. And just a moment later, that anger was replaced with a deep regret.

"I never wanted to leave you, little brother. And you know I never have. Not really. I've seen everything that's happened to you since...that day," Roy said softly.

Rick looked over to Roy and felt tears in his eyes but he couldn't speak. Anger, hurt, longing, regret and love warred in his chest. And among all, this he was afraid Roy would see his secret fear.

It was his fault Roy had died. If Rick hadn't been laid up in the hospital, Roy wouldn't have had to lead Vermillion Squad into battle that day. Roy wouldn't have been distracted watching out for the young, inexperienced squad and leading Skull at the same time. Rick should have been there to do his duty. It would have been Rick that took the shot, as he watched over Max's wing.

As it should have been.

"I was with you the day you took Skull out on your own, Rick. I have never been more proud of you as a pilot than I was that day. And I saw you lose Dixon. I wanted to come to you then but it was too soon and they wouldn't let me. The best I could do was sort of delay Ben's leaving so he could talk to you. I tried to be there for you."

Roy watched the tears spill from Rick's eyes but he made no move towards the young man just yet. They had some things they still had to work through before they could move on.

"I watched and cheered from the sidelines when you rescued Lisa from Alaska base. I was impressed with your flying but I was more impressed with you as a _man_ that day, Rick. That was the day I knew you were gonna be ok."

Rick's shoulders were shaking now and Roy risked putting his hand on the young man's back.

"But I think the moment I was most proud of you, little brother, was when you told Lisa you loved her."

Roy's voice was soft and gentle and it completely broke Rick apart. Years of blame and anger and loneliness were ripped from him as he turned to Roy and shouted.

"It's MY FAULT! You're DEAD because of ME. If I hadn't gotten hurt…I would have…" Rick trailed off, as sobs shook his wiry frame.

Roy was dumbfounded. He had never expected this and the flood of emotion and guilt that flowed from Rick was like a black, sticky, molten tar as it washed over the taller pilot, threatening to pull him under in a sea of desperation and negativity.

And suddenly Roy understood exactly what had happened to the young man.

Quickly, he grabbed Rick around the shoulders and forced him to turn to face him. He held Rick's face in his hands and stared down into tortured blue eyes.

"Rick, it was NEVER your fault! Even if you were there, I would have been in the air anyway! I was Skull Leader and it was my job! Can you tell me honestly that in a situation like that you would leave young Baker, Penn and Graham up there with no support? No, it was a rough fight and I was where I was supposed to be! It had nothing to do with you!"

Irrational hope flared in Rick's eyes before guilt clouded them once more. "No!" He started to shake his head and deny it when Roy shook him. Hard.

"It's true! I made my own mistakes that day. But it wouldn't have mattered had I flown the mission perfect. It was just my time. I mean it, Rick. I've never blamed you and neither has anyone else!"

"Claudia..." Rick began and was cut off by a smile on the taller man's face.

"Has always loved you and it never crossed her mind that it was your fault."

There was something so compelling about the way Roy was talking to him. Roy knew what Rick had feared and he hadn't blamed him. All of a sudden, Rick realized he believed Roy. Fokker had never set him wrong before. Why would he start now? A heaviness left Rick's body and suddenly there was nothing where that cold knot of doubt and anger had been, except the warmth of his bond with Roy.

Turning, he embraced the older man tightly and smiled when he felt Roy hug him hard. A few moments passed where the only sound was Rick's ragged breathed and Roy patting his back.

"You know, little brother, this wasn't on my agenda but I'm glad you told me."

"So am I," Rick replied shakily.

"But on the subject of Claudia. Is that why you don't hang around with her very often?"

Rick nodded and rubbed his eyes. "That and it can just be so hard, Roy. We both…miss you…so much."

"I guess I can understand that but I'd really appreciate it if you could keep more of an eye on her for me. Get her out with you and Lisa. Take her dancing! Get her outta the house!" Roy grinned, as he saw Rick's mouth twitch.

"I will. I promise!" Rick affirmed.

"Now we need to talk about what brought me here to you tonight," Roy said, as he lit a cigarette. "Lisa. What's going on, Rick?"

The scene shifted again and they were now sitting at one of the open air cafés in New Macross. Rick noticed that aside from the cigarette, Roy now had a hot cup of coffee he was sipping from. Idly, Rick realized it was the same café that Lisa had spent the day in waiting for him for their picnic.

"She's still waiting for you, Little Brother," Roy offered.

"Well, you know my track record with women, Big Brother. I'm not sure I'd be able to give her what she wants. What she deserves," Rick said pathetically, as he toyed with Roy's spoon.

"Well, that's pretty simple. What she wants is you. What she deserves is all your love and affection. AND for you to stop acting like a junior high jerk!" Roy pronounced bluntly.

"Hey!"

"Well, you are! Have you talked to her? Told her what's wrong? Trusted in her? Trusted in your relationship? Or have you been a boneheaded, love-sick idiot?"

Roy watched as Rick's indignation faded away and he slumped back in his chair. "No, I haven't talked to her. I've been too worried about losing her."

"Well, you're certainly going to lose her if this is the level of communication she can expect from you now. By the way, that little problem you had in the locker room a few days ago? It's pretty normal when you're a guy in love. The fact that you never went through this with Minmei says a lot, old buddy." Roy's eyes shone as he watched Rick assimilate this new information. "Oh and if the guys keep giving you a hard time just ask 'em if they're jealous or something. That'll get them off your back."

"How do you know that'll work?" Rick asked curiously.

"It's what Pop told me to do when I was having the same problems." Roy grinned and winked.

Rick laughed out loud as he imagined how _that _conversation would have gone. Pop Hunter wasn't all that comfortable about matters of sex, or of the heart for that matter. Maybe that was where Rick got his reticence from.

"You know, you should open up a bit more with Max. He's been a good friend to you and to Lisa, too. Don't spend so much time missing the people who aren't in your life on a day to day basis so that you forget the ones who are," Roy admonished.

Rick smiled. "I will, Roy. Thanks, Big Brother. For everything. I should have realized I could always count on you."

"No problem. You can always find me when you need me, Rick. I'll never be far from you." As Roy's voice began to echo, a thought and a fear raced through Rick's mind.

"Roy, this is real right! I mean it is YOU and I'm not imagining this, am I?" Rick cried out fearfully, as Roy faded from sight.

An amused chuckle was his only answer.

Rick sat up in bed calling after Roy but Roy was gone.

Rick wondered for a minute if it had all been a dream. A crazy, wonderful dream. But then, he realized that cold place inside him really was gone and he felt lightness and a joy he hadn't known in far too long.

A flicker of movement caught his eye and he looked above his bed to see his model Fokker Biplane, spinning lazily as if in a breeze. But there was something different about the model. With trembling hands, Rick removed the plane and examined it.

The cracks and glue marks were gone. The plane was in perfect condition, as it had been that day.

Rick's mouth stretched into a wide grin and as he replaced the plane in its original position he said, "Thanks, Big Brother. I won't forget!"

A few moments, later Rick was sleeping peacefully and dreaming about flying. His copilot in those dreams was Lisa.

Elsewhere, with a cocky grin on his face, Roy Fokker returned to a place where there was no pain and love could be felt through time and space. He often felt the thoughts and love of Rick, Lisa and Claudia. Tonight, he had been so pleased that he could finally help them all in some small way. He would always keep an eye on his friends and family but now he thought that maybe he could count on them to do a much better job of that themselves.

* * *

Rick woke the following morning feeling as if he'd slept for a week and everything around him seemed to be brighter and more vibrant than the days and years before. The first thing he did was examine the model in the morning light. It was still in perfect condition and Rick felt warmth expand in his chest.

_No time like the present to get started!_

* * *

Rick was banging like a mad man on the door. It wasn't getting him anywhere so he resorted to yelling.

"Hey Lisa! Come on. Open up!" he yelled, finally settling for rapping his knuckles on her bedroom window.

Groggy and still half-asleep, Lisa Hayes shuffled to her front door, not bothering to grab her robe. She was wearing an old, faded night shirt that came to just above her knees. Grimly, she opened the door to confront her maniacal boyfriend as he grinned crazily at her, looking obscenely cheery and put together in his uniform.

Lisa Hayes had only two thoughts. The first was that no one had the right to look that good this early in the morning. And the second was to wonder if any military tribunal would convict her of murder.

"Rick! What are you knocking like a maniac for? Have you lost your mind? Get in here before you wake the neighbors!" she said, dragging him inside. "You know this is why I gave you a _key_, right?" Lisa asked, sardonically. She had to laugh as his mouth fell open. He looked like a gaping fish.

"Umm. Sorry I forgot," he replied sheepishly. Now that he was inside, his mouth hit the floor as he took in Lisa's appearance. How could one woman look so damned sexy and inviting wearing what amounted to an old T-Shirt?

"Anyway, Rick what's going on? I assume it's not work related. The base hasn't called..." Lisa prompted.

"I uh…wanted to take you and Claudia to breakfast before our shifts this morning," Rick said. "This sounded like a much better idea in my head Lisa! I swear." He was just realizing that he might have come off a bit like a moron when he remembered the small gift bag he was holding.

"Oh yeah! I got this for you the other night. It's not much but I thought you might like it. It made me think of you, when I saw it," he trailed off hesitantly, as he held out the gift bag.

Lisa was making coffee and turned to see him holding out a brightly covered bag. She couldn't help but smile. Sometimes, Rick Hunter was amazingly charming. Reaching over, she took the bag from him and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you Rick, that was sweet but you don't have to bring me things..." she began, as she opened the bag and pulled out the bear. It was brown and wearing an emerald ribbon. It was also holding a red silk rose. The bear itself was incredibly soft and cuddly. Despite the undeniably cliché gift, Lisa felt the goofy smile on her face. "He's adorable, Rick! Thank you, that was really nice of you." She leaned over to kiss his other cheek and was surprised when Rick turned his head and captured her lips instead.

The kiss was long and loving. His hand was holding the back of her neck as he kissed her insistently. After a long moment, he broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers. "I love you, Lisa. And I only have one question for you."

"What's that, Rick?" Lisa asked, as she gazed deeply into his cobalt blue eyes.

"Will you come to breakfast with me and Claudia, please? I'm starving."

Laughing, she swatted his chest. "Fine! Give me ten minutes! Have you called Claudia yet?"

"Call? I was just gonna stop by on our way," Rick called out as he heard the water running in the bathroom.

"Uh uh, flyboy! You've got to give a lady a little bit of warning. I don't mind finding you waiting for me on my doorstep in the morning but I highly doubt Claudia would approve. You know where the phone is! Get to it, Mister! That's an order!" Lisa called playfully, as she stepped under the hot stinging spray.

_Well Roy, looks like today may be a good day after all, _Lisa thought.

* * *

Five minutes later, across town Claudia stirred in her bed, still holding the pillow that held that reassuring scent as a ringing sound invaded her consciousness. An annoying, insistent ringing sound that was dragging her back from a warm place.

Muttering curses, she fumbled for the phone by her bedside. "Is the world ending?" she growled in the receiver without even a hello.

Rick's amused laughter surprised Claudia into full alertness. "Not today, I don't think but I want to meet you for breakfast. We'll pick you up in ten minutes, ok? I know just the place where we can get a table! See you in a few," Rick said and without waiting for an answer, he hung up the phone.

"Rick I'm not even…!" Claudia heard the faint click as the line went dead. "Dressed," she finished lamely to herself. Shaking her head, she got out of bed to take the fastest military shower in history, wondering what on earth had gotten into Hunter that he had called_ her_ at 6:30 in the morning!

* * *

"And so I finally get to the door and there he stands, completely forgetting that he has a key!" Lisa finished relaying the story, as Claudia's giggles turned into an all-out laughing fit.

"Hey it's not nice to tease, Lisa," Rick defended, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

The three of them were walking to downtown New Macross for an early breakfast. The morning was brisk and cool as they walked and talked. Rick was in the middle with Claudia and Lisa on either side of him and he was holding Lisa's hand as they walked.

"Oh Rick. Loosen up! It's funny. You gotta admit it, Honey! I thought it was bad getting the phone call! I guess I should thank you for that, huh, Lisa?" Claudia grinned as Lisa nodded.

"Rick, we've really got to teach you some good old common sense. Things like calling a lady before showing up to drag her off unexpectedly," Claudia said playfully, nudging Rick in the ribs.

"Or you mean actually _asking_ if you'd like to go somewhere with him first?" Lisa added, running her hand through Rick's dark hair.

"Ok ok! I get it," Rick conceded defeat as they entered the small diner and approached a table for four. "How about you let me buy as a peace offering?" he replied, pulling out first Lisa's then Claudia's chair. A move that earned him a bright, loving look from Lisa and a nod of approval from Claudia, as the waitress served them all hot coffee.

"Well since you're paying I want coffee, tea, orange juice, Belgian waffles. A side of hash browns and one of sausage. No scratch the sausage. Canadian bacon instead please." Claudia smiled sweetly at the stunned look on Rick's face.

He recovered nicely, though.

"Uh sure, Big Sister, whatever you want. Maybe I should ask Captain Hayes, here, for a raise!"

Lisa grinned and it occurred to her that all three of them were in a very good mood that morning. It was so nice to laugh and joke. There hadn't been enough of that lately.

The waitress came over and Rick had to cover his mouth with his napkin to avoid spitting out the coffee he was drinking when Claudia ordered a simple English muffin and fruit cup.

"You know, I was just thinking how nice it is to be here with you two," Claudia said quietly, her dark eyes smiling at her two close friends. "It feels like forever since I've been this spontaneous. I just woke up in such a good mood!"

"I know exactly what you mean, Claudia. I haven't felt so rested in such a long time," Lisa enthused.

Rick was startled to hear the two women talking about what a good rest they had had the night before. He would have thought, given how he had left the situation with both of them, that their evening would have at least been a little restless.

Faintly, as if from far away he heard a very familiar snort.

Suddenly, inspiration struck him.

Rick cleared his throat self-consciously. "Did you two have anything, I dunno, _odd_ happen to you last night?"

Lisa looked over at Rick and carefully with trembling fingers set her coffee cup down, managing to only spill a small amount.

Claudia removed her napkin from her lap and peered down at her brother in law, well almost brother-in-law, from beneath long lashes.

Quietly she asked, "What do you mean odd, Rick?"

Something in Claudia's voice and in Lisa's stillness told him he was on the right track. He pushed forward before he lost his nerve.

"Ok, don't think I'm crazy but last night I was miserable and I fell asleep that way. Suddenly, I had this dream but it wasn't quite a dream and Roy was there…and we talked…and he helped me. A lot." Rick let out a breath he'd been holding and spit out the rest of the story. "That old model airplane Roy gave me the day he died, you both know how it broke and how I fixed it, right? And Lisa, it was your idea to hang it above my bed. Well, after I woke up from my dream last night….I...I…looked at the plane. And…its not…it wasn't…" Rick fumbled and lost his nerve.

"It's not broken anymore," Claudia whispered, her eyes wide and dark. She couldn't stop the gasp as Rick nodded.

Lisa was trembling hard now and Rick slipped his arm around her back, slowly rubbing soothing circles. "Lisa? What is it…I'm not crazy or anything! I can show you the plane."

"No Rick, it's not that. When I was first assigned to the SDF-1, Claudia was really my only friend. The only one not afraid to question me or be intimidated by me or by my father. I had just lost…Karl...and was never really very social so when the first annual RDF Ball came up, I wasn't going to go."

Rick hung on her every word as Claudia nodded and said, "I remember, I practically had to drag you out there, honey."

"Well I did end up going and for most of the night I sat there at the table watching everyone else having a good time. Then…Roy…came and asked me to dance. I remember trying to turn him down but he wouldn't let me. Before I knew what he was about, he had spun us into the center of the dance floor. I couldn't escape because the floor was so crowded. It was the last dance of the night, you see. And he'd decided to dance it with me. I didn't know him very well at the time. Only a little through Claudia but I do remember thinking he was a handsome man." Lisa blushed a little and Rick reached over and stroked her face. "I didn't realize, though I should have, that Claudia had arranged it, of course. But you never would have known it by Roy's face. Dancing with him that night reminded me that there were still other people in the world. People I could still care about. It really is one of my favorite memories of him, Rick."

Rick nodded, finding a new reason to be grateful to his Big Brother.

"Well last night, I was still upset about what had happened at the restaurant with Jean and Claudia that I went to bed early. I had a…dream. I was dancing with Roy again. And we talked and we laughed. It just made me feel so good. But I know what you mean when you say it didn't feel exactly like a dream. Well, when I woke up the radio in my room was playing the song we had danced to that night. I never leave the radio on and I hadn't even looked at it in weeks. I swear he was there with me last night," Lisa finished quietly, looking up to find Rick looking down at her with all the love in his heart showing from his eyes.

Claudia was dabbing at her eyes with a napkin, as she cleared her throat.

"So I guess it's my turn now then, hmmm? Yes, Roy came to see me last night and no, I will not share the details with you." Claudia stuck out her tongue at her friends,

surprising them into laughing and breaking the tension. "Suffice it to say, he was there and when I woke up I could still smell his aftershave on the pillow next to me. It was still there this morning."

All three officers looked at each other for a moment, and then broke out into identical wide grins. Just then, the empty fourth chair at their table turned around backwards, as if someone was straddling the chair.

Three pairs of startled eyes met and held at the center of the table. Finally, it was Lisa, the consummate professional among them, who raised her arm and shakily called, "Check please!"

* * *

"Well, it's been an eventful morning! Fighting malcontents is gonna seem pretty tame today, I gotta tell you!" he joked.

"Mmhm!" Claudia agreed.

Rick grew serious, for a moment thinking of the issues that still existed between him and Lisa. "Hey, Lisa, do you think we could have dinner together tonight? I'd really like to see you. I, uh, promise not to cook!"

"Why sure, Rick. That sounds like fun," Lisa enthused, as she tucked her arm through his.

"Claudia, I think we should do some kind of party next week. You know, I'd really like to get Max and Mirya out for awhile. Maybe we can get the Trio to help put it together. You know, their wedding anniversary is coming up. But I'm really bad at organizing things like that. Could you help?" he asked, reaching over with his free arm to hug Claudia.

Claudia was pleased with Rick's newfound openness and also found herself strangely touched by the request. Rick may think he was clever but he wasn't fooling her in the least. She knew this request for what it was. Clumsy it may have been but she would honor the spirit and love of the gesture for what it was. After all, there wasn't that much to a party!

"Why sure Rick, that would be just lovely! Why don't we get together towards the end of the week and plan something out." Claudia was rewarded by the soft look in Rick's eyes. Just for a moment, she thought she felt Roy kiss her on the cheek. She swore she could almost here him whisper, "Way to go, beautiful!"

Completely pleased with their world for the first time in years, the three officers made their way to the SDF-1 and what passed for a "normal" day.

* * *

Rick walked onto the tarmac and surveyed Skull Squadron in its entirety. _His squadron._ Off to the side, he saw Silver Squad looking out of place in their training uniforms and realized he had yet to make the announcement official. Most of the veterans knew, of course, that the young trio had made the cut. But it was Skull Leader's prerogative to make the announcement.

As soon as Max noticed Rick and saw him nod mischievously, he called out in a booming voice, "Skull Squadron! Fall in!" It was ordered chaos as pilots doing maintenance leapt from their planes and more pilots spilled from the locker rooms to form the rank and file.

"Baker, Penn, Graham! Front and center!" Rick called, mock-ferocity warring with the sound of innate leadership and the tone of command in his voice. Rick smiled inwardly as Max and Mirya fell in beside him on his left and right. They had done the dance too many times to count and the choreography was flawless. This was the fun part.

"Attention!" Max barked on queue. Mirya stepped out of formation and moved smartly to the storage lockers, pulling out some equipment. Calmly, she waited for Rick's signal.

With barely a flicker of eye movement between them, Rick gave the go ahead and Mirya moved forward, presenting the young cadets with new squadron flight suits and helmets. All of which marked them as Skull Squadron pilots.

"Welcome to the family!" The trio hardly dared to believe it and it was Karen Penn who recovered first, snapping a sharp salute to Rick. The other two followed a breath behind.

Rick returned the salute and a moment later dismissed Skull Squadron. He watched as the new teammates were welcomed with much back slapping and some cat calling.

Catching up quickly with Max and Mirya, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"We were never like that!" Rick lamented.

"Nope, Skipper!" Max grinned evilly. "We were worse!"

Rick smirked and nodded to acknowledge the accuracy of the statement. "Hey Max, I wanna talk to you for a minute, ok. Can you meet me in my office in about ten minutes?"

"Sure thing, Rick. Anytime!"

* * *

Exactly nine minutes, later Rick's office door opened and the blue-haired ace sat down. It didn't matter that Rick could intimidate an entire Squadron or that he was a legend in the air. Nope. It didn't matter to Max at all.

Rick found himself hoping that would never change.

"Hey there," Rick greeted with a sardonic grin. "Make yourself comfortable!"

"Thanks Rick!" Max levered his feet up and set them on Rick's desk. "There, that's better."

Rick swiped a hand over his eyes and gave up the fight as he started to chuckle. "So anyway, it's a good thing this is a personal visit! Listen and don't interrupt!" Rick said, as Max opened his mouth for another salvo.

Sensing Rick was about to get serious, Max settled down and closed his mouth.

"I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate that you and I are friends. I know I'm not the easiest person to be around a lot of the time and it means so much that you would stick it out with me. I don't have a lot of people I can turn to but you've always been one of the few. The same goes for Mirya."

Blushing slightly, Max replied, "You mean the world to both of us, Rick. And I'm really glad to see you finally _happy_.Lisa is really good for you! And you've always been a really good friend to me too."

Stubbornly, Rick refused to let it go. "I realize a lot of the time as pilots we leave things unsaid as some kind of weird superstition but I also didn't want to leave it unsaid forever. You are my best friend and you're as close to me as a..." Rick hesitated as the perfect words came to him. "...Little Brother."

He saw Max's face register shock, amazement and joy. Without words, both men stood up and embraced. As friends. As family. As brothers.

Rick released Max and cleared his throat, "Listen, do you and Mirya wanna go out with me and Lisa sometime? Maybe we can get Claudia to come too?"

"Sure, Rick. Let me just run it by the missus! I'll let you know later in the week!" Max replied, taking his cue and leaving.

* * *

Lisa couldn't believe she was finally having a candlelit dinner with Rick. It was slightly more formal than anything they had done before and Lisa had a chance to style some of the new clothing that she had bought the other day.

Tonight she was wearing a black silk, strapless cocktail dress that clung to her in all the right places and still flared enough to allow her to move easily. The hem was several inches above her knees, revealing far more leg than she was used to. She was wearing modest two-inch heels that brought her right to eye level with Rick. Something she appreciated when they had danced earlier in the evening. Lisa had even left her long hair free and down where it cascaded down below her waist. She had to admit, Claudia and Jean had been right.

Rick hadn't been able to take his eyes off of her and even as they sat enjoying a wonderful dinner, he would occasionally reach out and touch her arm or hand. As they had danced she had felt him stroke his fingers through her hair as he ran his hands slowly over her back.

For Rick's part, he had decided to wear his black dress pants with a deep wine colored silk shirt Lisa had given him for Christmas the year before. He had his black sports coat and a black tie with specks of deep red in it to complete his outfit. He was even wearing his dress shoes, which he had shined for the occasion.

"Are you enjoying yourself tonight?" Rick asked, as he ran his fingers lightly up her arm and down again as they enjoyed an after dinner coffee.

"Of course I am. I'm with you, Rick," Lisa answered. She noticed he had maneuvered his chair to be closer to her and now their knees touched under the table. Feeling particularly daring, Lisa reached under the table and placed her hand high up on his thigh and moved her hand in a gentle massage. She felt Rick stiffen for only a moment, then his whole posture softened and he leaned forward to kiss her deeply.

"Would you like to dance some more? Or have some dessert?" Watching her eyes as she discarded both suggestions, he leaned forward to whisper quietly in her ear. "You just say the word when you're ready to go home, Miss Hayes."

Lisa's thoughts were moving at the speed of light and for the second time that day, she nodded to their server and called for the check.

* * *

Rick had rented a car for the evening and he drove them back to Lisa's house. She had the more spacious quarters and for some reason he was almost more comfortable there than in his own rooms.

Lisa opened the door and he followed her inside, carefully removing his sports coat he draped it over a kitchen chair. He watched as Lisa moved around, turning on lights and starting her music system to something soft, low and slow. He knew this type of music because Pop Hunter had played it for him often when he was a boy. What did they call it back then? Jazz. Yeah, that was it. Finally, she turned back to him and held out her hand.

With no hesitation at all, he joined her sitting on the couch and felt her cuddle into his side. "As much as I hate to say it, Rick, I think we need to talk." Lisa bit her lower lip and waited to see how Rick would react.

To her surprise, Rick pulled her closer to him and rubbed gently at the back of her neck. "Yeah, I think we do Lisa. Do you mind if I go first?" At the shake of her head, Rick took a deep breath. "I know you know a lot about what happened with me and Minmei," he broke off as a most unladylike snort issued from the woman he loved. "Well, the thing is, not a lot of people know what did or didn't happen between her and me." Here Rick stumbled just a little and felt Lisa's reassurance as she placed her hand against his chest. She could feel his heart beating quickly. Almost racing.

"That is to say…nothing…ever happened between us, Lisa."

Shocked, Lisa pulled away from Rick to stare into his eyes.

"Nothing ever happened between me and her, or me and anyone I've dated," Rick almost mumbled, lowering his eyes as he lost his courage.

"Rick? You and Minmei were living together for weeks..." Lisa trailed off, as Rick shook his head and the truth of the statement hit home. After all, Rick Hunter did not lie well. And he certainly didn't look as if he was lying now. His whole body posture was tense and his eyes were downcast, almost as if he were somehow ashamed of what he was saying.

In a flash of comprehension, all the pieces clicked into place and Lisa understood.

Slipping out from under his arm, she placed both hands on the side of his face as she knelt on the floor, resting her elbows on his knees.

"Rick, it's ok. Is that why you kept leaving and inventing phone calls and the like?" Lisa asked softly, rubbing her thumb along his jaw line. She could feel him clench reflexively at her touch and she smiled softly up at him.

"I panicked, Lisa. I know I just should have talked to you but I was so…afraid," he finished miserably, blushing hotly.

"Of what, Rick?"

"That I'd be a disappointment to you. Again. And this time would be the last time. I've hurt and disappointed you so much. I couldn't stand to do it again. Especially not over this. Not over something that's supposed to bring us so much closer together."

Lisa looked up at him and gave him a dazzling smile. "Rick. What's in the past needs to stay there. Learn from what happened but don't let it cripple you. Or us. I'm not going anywhere because I love you. And I know you love me. I appreciate you telling me this now, though. I have to admit it's helpful to know." And with that, she launched into the story of what had happened earlier in the week with Jean and Claudia. She told the whole story of what Minmei had said and what Jean had done and how she had felt. She pulled no punches, needing to be as honest with him in these moments as he was being with her.

She saw the anger flare as his eyes darkened to slate blue and felt him lean forward and place his hand on her neck when she told of how hurt she had been. It was all she could do to persuade him that it didn't really matter anymore. And that it never should have mattered in the first place.

"I'm sorry you were hurt again by some stupid move I made," Rick said morosely, circling her waist with his arms as she rose up and settled on his lap.

Lisa slipped both her arms around his neck and rested her cheek on top of his head. "Rick, that's what I'm trying to tell you! It wasn't something you did. I had my own fears and insecurities that allowed Minmei to hurt me. But it's ok now. And we should just let it go. After all, she's not important to us anymore, right?" She turned her lips and pressed them into the black silk that was his hair.

She felt his body relax once more as he accepted her words and her love. "I guess you're right," he acknowledged.

"Do you know how much time you could save if you just remembered that?" She teased. She was startled when she suddenly found herself on her back on the couch as Rick tickled her ribs. It was only a moment before she cried "uncle" and he stopped the hellish tickling.

"Dammit! I hate that you know I'm ticklish!" she replied breathlessly, as Rick grinned victorious above her. She lost whatever annoyance she may have had as she felt Rick slowly lower a bit more of himself on her as he brought his lips to hers.

By the time the kiss ended she wasn't the only one breathless. Blue and green eyes locked in a loving duel and Lisa spoke, "Rick, I have just one question for you. Will you stay and have breakfast with me?"

Rick's answer, though not vocal, was definitely in the affirmative.

* * *

It was all soft touches and gentle kisses. There was very little awkwardness and only a few miscues. Rick Hunter allowed the woman he loved to teach him and tease him even as he learned the way she liked to be touched. Her sighs and soft moans were all the encouragement he needed as he learned how her body responded to his. The pleasure she was inducing in him was almost secondary in this experience. In his heart, it was about showing Lisa how much he loved her. How he cherished and worshipped her.

Her body was growing slick beneath him, as she brought him to her center. His own body was trembling as she raised herself up slightly to bring him inside. He watched her eyes darken to a deep hunter green as he filled her and heard her gasp. Hoping he hadn't moved too fast, he held himself tightly still and waited for her body to tell him what to do next. The pleasure was exquisite but it meant nothing to him if she wasn't feeling it too.

Lisa had never been the experienced one in the bedroom before but the way Rick was looking at her made it easy to take the lead. She kissed him and brought him to her bed. She undressed him slowly and helped him do the same for her. Slowly, she brought his hands to her breasts and showed him how she liked to be touched. She could feel the calluses that marked him as a flyboy against the sensitive nipples as he stroked her. Her flyboy. She heard him moan her name as she nipped the skin of his neck and chest even as her hand moved lower to tease him. Oh how she loved this man. She had encouraged him to do his own explorations with his lips and hands and was surprised but not displeased to discover how thorough he could be.

By the time she brought him to her, she was more than ready for him. As he entered her slowly and carefully, she saw his eyes go almost black with their shared pleasure and she felt him fill her for the first time. It had been so long since she'd been with someone in this way and the fact that it was Rick, _her_ Rick, caused her to gasp in pleasure. Instantly, she felt him freeze above her and saw his eyes widen with concern. Reassuringly, she slipped her hands up his arms which were rigid with his control.

"Are you alright, Lisa?" he asked her, his voice husky with desire and emotion. She felt him tremble as she clenched around him, enjoying the feel of him inside her.

"More than alright, darling. Just go slowly. It'll all be ok," she whispered, as she locked her legs around his calves, gently pulling him forward.

Eyes never leaving hers, Rick began to love her in earnest and he watched as Lisa surrendered herself to the pleasure. The sounds she was making driving him to distraction and the pleasure he was feeling building intensely. He knew he was getting close and tried to communicate this to his lover through his eyes and panted words.

She must have been close too, for just as he felt himself beginning to lose control he felt her nails dig into his back and her whole body arched towards him, as she cried out his name.

It was his undoing and with her name on his lips, he emptied himself into her.

* * *

Lisa pulled Rick down to rest on top of her, as her breathing slowly returned to normal. After a moment, she became aware that Rick was trembling. "It's ok, darling. I'm here with you," she whispered into his hair. Gently rubbing his back and easing the tension she found there.

After another few minutes, Rick raised his head and Lisa could see the emotion in the stormy blue eyes. Rick leaned down and kissed her as if his life depended on it. "I love you Lisa," he whispered, as if it were a prayer.

Pulling him back down to her, she whispered in his ear, "I love you too, Rick. Thank you for letting me be the one."

She felt Rick's smile against her neck and felt him shift on the bed pulling her into his side.

"The one and only, Lisa. I promise you that."

* * *

Two weeks later, the entire bridge crew, Skull Wing and even Admiral Gloval were all gathered around a large table that held a very large three-tiered cake. One for each year the Sterlings had been married. The room was decorated in silver and lilac, with balloons and confetti on every surface.

Claudia looked around at the couple at the main table. It had been relatively easy to pull off a surprise anniversary party for the unassuming couple but she couldn't help but be pleased when she remembered the shocked look on Mirya's face as they had all yelled Happy Anniversary!

Speeches had been made and toasts given and now it was just a party. All of Skull had come through at some point and many of the enlisted crew as well. But now as the party was beginning to wind down, it was just this small group. Her family

"Sammie! Vanessa! Kim! Be careful!!" she called out, trying to keep the laughter out of her voice. The Trio were trying to teach Admiral Gloval some kind of old line dance. The Electric Current or something. And from the look of things, the Admiral would rather be electrocuted than participate. Why he had allowed himself to be dragged to the floor Claudia would never know.

But just then she realized it was the kind of thing you did for your friends and family.

Max and Mirya were opening their gifts, which ranged from picture frames to small home appliances. She was amused at how well Max took the implied joke as he received three fire extinguishers and two more coffee pots. Even Mirya had laughed. _That girl was really coming along_ Claudia thought.

Vince and Jean were dancing under the one disco ball she had allowed Rick to get and she noticed her brother was pointedly steering his wife away from the buffet tables.

Finally, she noticed Rick and Lisa dancing quietly in a darkened corner, neither one of them paying attention to the music. As much in love as anyone could have hoped for. Rick had moved into Lisa's quarters just that morning and she had the feeling that if it had been anyone other than Max, they still would be there now.

Her musings were interrupted as one of Vince's friends handed her a glass of punch. She wouldn't say he was there as her date, more as a friend. But it was a start. No one would ever replace Roy for her but now she knew he was waiting for her it made it a little easier to be getting on with the business of life.

It was nice to have a dancing partner, even if it was only for a night. Deciding to stop all this heavy thinking, she dragged Sean onto the dance floor and gave Vince and the trio a run for their money as she moved with Sean and the music.

It was a party after all!

* * *

Watching over everything, a tall fighter jock was brooding as he smoked his cigarette. A gravelly familiar voice from behind announced another's presence.

"C'mon Son. It's time go for now." Pop Hunter reached for his eldest boy and placed a hand on his shoulder. Roy may not have been his by blood but there were things more important than blood.

"I know, Pop. And I know I did the right thing. But I sure do miss them all." Roy's voice was wistful and slightly sad.

"You should know, Roy they haven't left you either and eventually we'll all be together again," Pop assured him

"I know but for their sakes may it take a million years!" Roy whispered and turned to follow his father back into eternal peace.


End file.
